With technological advancements, software packages are playing a more important role in planning and managing complex tasks and business processes. Today, several packages are available on the market that may assist users in managing their projects. For example, MICROSOFT PROJECT (developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.) may provide the tools necessary for managing a variety of projects. Systems such as MICROSOFT OUTLOOK (developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.) are commonly used to create and manage tasks, email, contacts or the like.
In order to provide the end-user with a manageable amount of data, complex processes are decomposed into multiple easy-to-handle and understandable steps involving chunks of data. On the user interface of software applications, these information chunks may be combined in a defined sequence of screens which may lead the end-user through the complete process or task.
During the completion of any process or task, several pieces of meta-information, including the total number of steps needed to complete the process or task, the current step within the sequence of steps, and the completion statuses of individual steps, may be important for the end-user, in order to make informed decisions and manage the task in an efficient manner.